ACTU calls on Gillard to leverage buying power

Unions are pushing for the Gillard government to make greater use of its purchasing power to drive pay and conditions improvements outside of the enterprise bargaining system. From January 1, the government will require tenderers for government cleaning contracts to provide four-hour minimum shifts at set wage rates, along with “fair and reasonable workloads".

Prime Minister
Julia Gillard
has argued the cleaning industry has a history of “underpayment, exploitation and unsafe work practices", which employers had to address to be eligible to provide services to the government.

But ACTU secretary
Jeff Lawrence
said unions wanted the government to apply the principles embodied in the Fair Work Act to the billions of dollars worth of goods and services procured by the government every year. “There’s been a bit happening in the cleaning industry," Mr Lawrence said. “We need to extend that."

The government already requires businesses bidding for contracts above a certain size to have enterprise agreements that allow for last-resort arbitration, even though that is not required by its Fair Work Act. The policy will boost the campaign being run by a union representing low-paid workers, United Voice, which targeted the contracting giant
Spotless
and Westfield shopping centres in the lead-up to Christmas. Spotless says it meets award conditions by paying a base rate of $16.57 an hour, with many of its cleaners earning an average of $21 per hour after penalty rates, overtime and allowances.